After the Daily Mail compiled a list of the word’s most beautiful female politicians, the Running in Heels team decided to make our own list. The unlikely lookers finally get their moment of fawning and fascination as we bring you: The ten hottest men in politics.

Starting the countdown now…

10. Al Gore

It was the release of documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth that threw the spotlight back onto the environmentally conscious man with the myriad of past careers. AG has seen it all: from fighting in Vietnam to assuming the role of Vice President alongside Bill Clinton. From running against George Bush Junior in the 2000 presidential elections to raising global awareness of the planetary emergency that is global warming. With his classic good looks and perennial expression of pensive concern, Gore appeals to us via his apparent sensitivity towards the fate of the world. When watching An Inconvenient Truth, Gore appears to us as a man thoroughly beleaguered by his own message. Having extensive knowledge of the ways in which Man is systematically destroying the planet must be a real drag. Losing an election fight to George Bush Junior must have been even worse.
And so, Gore is in our Top 10 for his tenacity, as well as his gorgeousness. Raise your glass/cup of tea to Gore – a man who shows us that having the courage of your convictions leads you to great things.

9. Vladimir Putin

A certain terrifying male mystique and Iron Man demeanor earns Vladimir Putin a place at number nine. With all the style and grace of a Bond villain, Putin has successfully projected a public image of someone not to be messed with. The second president of post Soviet Russia turned Prime Minister is the toughest of our entrants, with a hardened past spent with the KGB and a penchant for martial arts, he is a force to be reckoned with; or a force to be slightly scared of. Either way, many girls like a bit of rough; a diamond in the dust and Putin has a certain rugged charm he clearly wants to display to the world. No stranger to the pleasures of outdoor pursuits, Putin has been snapped, Paparazzi style, topless fishing, hunting and wading through swamps like Rambo. With a perpetual look of steely determination on his face and an impressively maintained torso, he is every bit the machismo thorn in Europe’s side and conveyor of Kremlin control. Putin receives a mixed reception in response to policies and popularity both on his own soil and internationally, but he looks remarkably virile for his 55 years.

8. David Cameron

Eton Boy charm combined with a kind of annoyingly compelling smugness makes David Cameron our Number 8. He is a descendent of King William IV, which makes his affluent ‘Britishness’ all the more prevalent. As leader of the Conservative Party in the UK, he brings a certain contemporary energy to a party, who only a few years ago we all associated with graying, right wing, old boy networks. Cameron is the Tory poster boy drafted in to appeal to the great unwashed and the younger electorate: he’s down with the kids, man. He even smoked pot back in his Eton days. Though far from unattractive, Cameron is the unfortunate possessor of a disturbingly high forehead. He wears a permanent expression of self affirmation that could on the one hand be considered confident and come-hither, but on the other, make him look like a smug twat. None of this diminishes his alluring attributes, however. He is the forbidden fruit of sexy politics: Tory Totty.

7. Nicholas Sarkozy

With his Action Man good looks, Nicholas Sarkozy is the figure who polarises French polemics and public opinion. With his Vanity Fair style romance with the glamorous Carla Bruni, the focus has often shifted from his merits as France’s 23rd President, to where he and Bruni are holidaying or what opulent place they are choosing to hold court with other members of high society. In spite of this removal from the conventions of political lifestyle, and his distinctly conservative choices in the application of policy (tax cuts for the upper-middle class and so-called authoritarian methods of maintaining law and order), Sarkozy is a genuinely sexy man. On the down side, he is rather short at a pint sized 5’5″.

6. Anders Fogh Rasmussen

Hardly the left leaning woman’s choice, but lets put sex appeal before policy for just a few minutes. Anders Fogh Rasmussen is a sexy man who your mum would fancy. Danish prime minister turned Secretary General of N.A.T.O; Rasmussen exudes that grizzled yet refined, wise yet risky, weathered yet handsome mystique of the mature man in politics. No stranger to controversy (the Muhammad cartoons in 2005) and conflict (he was a staunch supporter of the invasion of Iraq); AFR still manages to look very good for a 56 year old man who has experienced no shortage of dire days at the office. His love for running and cycling have paid off, it would seem, and he maintains a good level of physical fitness, which saw him taking part in a section of the Tour De France in 2008. However, Rasmussen does have one distinct flaw: his voice. The poor chap sounds like a South Park character.

5. Boris Johnson

A controversial choice perhaps, Boris is the second mayor of London and the second of the two Eton Boys in our Hot Top 10. Loved by some, loathed by many, Boris shows the world that he is an outspoken eccentric who has always operated on the peripheries of serious right wing politics whilst somehow, simultaneously, behaving like a rebellious kid with an unruly haircut. Though many resented Boris’ victory in the 2008 mayoral elections over Ken Livingstone, the Labour lefty with a green agenda that pissed off one motorist too many, behind closed-doors a majority of people actually found Boris inexplicably prepossessing. Out of all our dashing male offerings of the Hot Top 10, Boris is by far the most fun; and out of all of them, he is the one who would be a risky yet raucous dinner date.

4. Ben Cannon

Cannon is a Humanities teacher turned State Representative of Oregon, USA.
At the tender age of 32, Cannon has risen through the Democratic ranks to become a progressive politician, addressing local issues within his state, to the wider predicament of climate change. Cannon exudes a boy next door charisma combined with a winning concern for local, community matters. After all, there is nothing more alluring than a man who applies full dedication to the improvement of his local transport infrastructure. With fabulous brown eyes and a dress sense that’s more Kings of Leon than House of Representatives, he is fully deserving of his place at number five of the Hot Top 10.

3. Maxime Bernier

Maxime Bernier is in fine feather, despite the somewhat messy nature of his political career. Adding a touch of scandal to Canadian politics, the 46 year old lawyer and businessman and ex Minister of Foreign Affairs has followed a path of hapless and unfortunate blunders. His downfall seems to be his choice in women, with one former girlfriend costing him his job after her alleged romantic links with the Hells Angels were exposed. Bernier might have stood a chance of winging this nugget of nuisance, had he not left some highly sensitive papers relating to an impending N.A.T.O. meeting lying about in her flat. Aside from all this, Bernier is one fine specimen of male body mass. With his film star good looks, he is every part the strapping, strong jawed Suit; hot hot hot.

2. David Miliband

David Miliband, 43, is a tiger in the chambers of parliament. With his Polish and Belgian roots, the young Foreign Secretary has brought a fresh, prepossessing presence to contemporary British politics. A born and bred Londoner, Miliband has the edge on many other politicians because he seems more in touch with the realities of modern urban living. Cunningly working his way through key ministerial roles within the Labour cabinet (Head of Policy to Environment Secretary to Foreign Secretary), Miliband has sparked speculation about his future ambitions, and whether they might entail working his way to the key seat within Downing Street. Armed with a trademark red tie (a nod towards Labour’s traditional colour choice?), a bookish gaze and cheekbones that would make Kate Moss glow with jealousy, David Miliband is, quite literally, the most fetching fella to enter Downing Street since forever.

1. Barack Obama

It had to be, really. Who else could possibly assume the No 1 slot than the widely revered and globally respected US President? He is hope personified, charisma epitomised. As if reviving a disenfranchised and depressed cross section of American society, reviving the belief that honest and democratic policies are worth voting for, bringing a new wave of hope in global peace and standing as a bastion of unbreakable hope for black people the world over weren’t enough, he does all of this with more oratory aplomb than any of us really thought possible. Just how charismatic can one man be for heaven’s sake? We’re all still in the throes of shock and elation when trying to process the fact that America has chosen a stylish, liberal, intelligent and disarmingly hot Commander in Chief. Hello Mr President.